All ears were on Tony Romo on Saturday, a week after his highly criticized broadcasting performance during the Bills-Jaguars playoff game.
As for whether or not he acquitted himself during CBS’s broadcast of the Buffalo Bills-Denver Broncos this week depends on what you were focused on and what you remember.
Romo, whose regression in the booth was a major storyline several years ago, was back in the spotlight after last week’s gaffe-filled performance that featured odd commentary and several errors. Immediately afterward, speculation ran wild that CBS might elevate its Ian Eagle-J.J. Watt booth by the time its next Super Bowl broadcast rolled around, though others doubted there was such concern.
Romo later revealed he was sick during the game. On Saturday, Front Office Sports’ Michael McCarthy reported that not only was CBS happy with him, but there was also “boiling frustration inside CBS over what they see as a slanted media narrative against Romo.”
All of which put a lot of pressure, perceived or real, on Romo to put together a solid performance this Saturday.
So did he acquit himself? It depends on who you ask.
The CBS NFL commentator was first elevated to the top of the class thanks to his ability to predict plays. Romo returned to form on Saturday, when he effectively predicted a Broncos touchdown right before halftime.
Tony Romo was all over the Broncos’ TD play ahead of halftime. 🏈🎯🎙️ #NFL #NFLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/HmbjqQ3Jdd
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 17, 2026
It was exactly the kind of thing people love about Romo. However, throughout the game, it seemed clear that he was trying to predict many plays. In doing so, he was falling flat way more often than he was correct.
At one point in the second half, the Broncos lined up for a punt on 4th and 9 from close to midfield. Romo seemed absolutely desperate to predict a fake punt when there was nothing about the situation that implied that would be a smart decision. And when the ball was indeed punted, he said that the only reason it happened was that the Bills dropped into prevent, almost as if he felt the need to justify why his prediction was wrong.
Romo really thought that a fake punt was coming there? This is getting out of control. What is going on with him? this might be worse than last week
— Ryan Whitney (@ryanwhitney6) January 17, 2026
The moment that many Romo critics latched onto was when he referred to Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen as “Mahomes.” To be fair to Romo, the slip-of-the-tongue came moments after Jim Nantz had mentioned Patrick Mahomes. However, Romo’s reputation for “glazing” Mahomes and Allen did him no favors in this moment.
Tony Romo calls Josh Allen “Mahomes,” hitting several Bingo card spaces all at once. pic.twitter.com/kzEB3weoWc
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 17, 2026
In a way, the two crutches Romo leans on (trying to predict plays and overpraising players) are a big part of the reason for the disconnect with so many NFL viewers. Both set him up for failure more often than they do for success.
On Saturday alone, his prediction hit-rate was something like 10%, especially late in the game, and he had several moments where his praise of a player was immediately followed by a negative play involving them. When he gets these things right, he looks like a genius. But the problem is that he tends to get these things wrong most of the time, and he also irritates viewers who are tired of the same schtick. By the end of Saturday’s game, his touchdown prediction felt more like the law of averages than any supernatural effort.
Tony Romo: “OOOOH! HERE WE GO, JIM!” #NFL #NFLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/Lcjlo0fMYV
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 17, 2026
During the week, The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand said that he felt like Romo “doesn’t appear as if he does the homework.” That assessment seemed to bear fruit early on when the CBS broadcaster said the Bills don’t miss many tackles (Buffalo’s run defense was among the worst in the NFL this season) and that they don’t run the tush push often (they ran it a bunch of times).
That critique of Romo also comes out when he focuses too much on platitudes and obvious commentary, something that happened often during the Bills-Broncos game.
That’s not to say that he doesn’t also provide salient analysis. In fact, Romo had several moments during the game when he provided context and insight that helped viewers understand why a play worked or didn’t. But again, these instances were floating in a sea of cliches and banal observations.
Romo explained this to me fabulously. His issue is consistency. https://t.co/zc34LEuMP4
— Matt Guye (@MattGuye) January 17, 2026
Regardless of what they might say or ignore during the week, there was a sense that Nantz was doing a lot of heavy lifting to prop up his announcing partner. Oftentimes, Nantz would praise Romo for benign observations. Viewers who already find their uncle-nephew dynamic distracting or odd didn’t come away feeling differently this day.
Overall, a disjointed first half for Nantz & Romo with 4th down confusion, Nantz odd TD call and “Mahomes!”
Also, Nantz should lose pointing out when Romo gets one right. Unneeded.
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) January 17, 2026
Ultimately, the final Bills’ drive of regulation provided the perfect test case for how viewers feel about Romo right now.
With one minute to go, down three points, Josh Allen took the field to the soundtrack of Romo’s platitudes about his greatness. On a play where Allen tossed the ball while scrambling to avoid a defender, Romo credited the quarterback for his smarts even though replays showed there was no way for him to have done anything otherwise. On a pass to the sidelines that could have gone either way, Romo turned into a sound machine, stretching out syllables instead of providing cogent analysis. When Allen threw a pass downfield that landed a few feet from a receiver, Romo praised it as a “smart throwaway.”
At this point, Romo was in full praise mode, doing so for a Buffalo trick play, rather than offering any insight. He then attempted to predict two plays, but was wrong on both. When Allen threw a ball that landed several feet out of the endzone, Romo said it was “almost perfectly thrown.” And on a final Allen pass close to the endzone that went incomplete, he shared the obvious sentiment that, “This could have won the game.” When Matt Prater kicked a field goal to tie the game, only then did Romo say that he was “automatic.” And as the Bills lined up to kick off, Romo seemed to forget that squibbing the kick was no longer an option.
Now, you might look at the preceding two paragraphs and see it as a collection of nitpicks. You might also look at them as a collection of moments that affirm your annoyances. Perhaps you see it as a mixture of those two. And maybe you are realizing you didn’t even notice any of that because you don’t really care about what the announcer is saying.
Many in the sports media industry will say that all of this is overblown and no one really cares if Tony Romo is a little weird and makes some odd choices. One could counter by pointing them toward X, Bluesky, Facebook, and other social media platforms to see what the conversation looks like there. As for whether you give credence to what is said on those social media platforms, that’s up to you.
At the end of the day, the criticisms about Romo are very similar to those made about Pat McAfee. People might say they don’t like them, but that sure doesn’t stop them from tuning in to watch what they’re doing. They might prefer to see (or hear) someone else, but it won’t make or break their viewing experience.
THE BRONCOS TAKE DOWN THE BILLS IN OT AND WILL HOST THE AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME!
Jim Nantz with the call for CBS. 🏈🔥🎙️ #NFL #NFLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/ffk1LUk6L6
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 18, 2026
The Broncos’ overtime win over the Bills was a wild, erratic, and thrilling football game. How much Tony Romo improved or ruined someone’s experience watching it depends on who you’re talking to.
